TruVision Health Blog

How to Eat Healthy at… Applebee’s

Eating well at Applebee’s can seem like a cinch, thanks to their Have It All Menu menu, featuring entrees with under 600 calories. But these low-cal dishes also all offer more than 1500 milligrams of sodium per serving, and some contain an entire day’s worth—you should take in 2300 mg of sodium max. Excess salt not only makes you feel bloated and puffy, but it’s bad for your overall heart-health, too. We scoured the menu to find these three SELF-approved picks that will fill you up, minus the sodium bombs.

Mixing and matching side dishes to make a meal is often the best way to create a healthy order at a chain spot. Ask for a baked potato topped with cheddar and a side of seasonal veggies. The spud offers unrefined carbs and fiber, while cheese adds a punch of protein and fat to keep you full all afternoon.

Many restaurant salads can actually have more calories and fat than a burger (yikes!!!), so ordering from Applebee’s half-size option is ideal. This dish has the right balance of fat, carbs and protein to be filling enough, but it’s still a little low on fiber, so be sure to sneak more into your dinner and PM snack to meet the 25 grams you need per day. An apple or a serving of broccoli have about 4 grams each, a quarter of an avocado or an ounce of almonds have about 3.5 grams each, and a cup of brown rice or slice of whole grain bread has about 2 grams each.

A bowl of ooey goeey chili might seem decadent, but it can actually be one of the healthiest options on any given menu. Applebee’s chili weighs in with enough calories to be satisfying, and it delivers a decent dose of fiber and protein. This item has the most sodium of any of our picks, so try to limit salty and processed foods during the rest of your day to avoid going overboard.

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